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FLAG COUNTER

Friday, November 12, 2010

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door.

Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so she brought him a large glass of milk.

He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?”

“You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.”

He said, “Then I thank you from my heart.”

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Years later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.

Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room.

Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room.

She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She began to read the following words:

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

A frail old man went to live with
his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson.

The old man's hands trembled, his
eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered.

The family ate together at the
table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating
difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass,
milk spilled on the tablecloth.

The son and daughter-in-law
became irritated with the mess.

'We must do something about
father,' said the son.

'I've had enough of his spilled
milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.'

So the husband and wife set a
small table in the corner.

There, Grandfather ate alone
while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner.

Since Grandfather had broken a
dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.

When the family glanced in
Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone.

Still, the only words the couple
had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.

The four-year-old watched it all
in silence.

One evening before supper, the
father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor.

He asked the child sweetly, 'What
are you making?'

Just as sweetly, the boy
responded, 'Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in
when I grow up’. The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The words so struck the parents
so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks.
Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.

That evening the husband took
Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the
remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family... And for some reason,
neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped,
milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Just waxing nostalgic...saw the movie Speed on cable and I remembered my love affair with Keanu Reeves. I had such a huge crush on him and I know I made a slideshow of him, sort of my tribute to his hotness...

'I can see that. Hmm mmm, only
thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like
this at home?' the store owner asked.

'Not zackley but almost.'

'Tell you what. Take this sack of
peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble'. Mr.
Miller told the boy.

'Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller.'

Mrs. Miller, who had been
standing nearby, came over to help me.

With a smile she said, 'There are
two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor
circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain
with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever.

When they come back with their
red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and
he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one,
when they come on their next trip to the store.'

I left the store smiling to
myself, impressed with this man. A short time later I moved to Colorado, but I
never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering for marbles.

Several years went by, each more
rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old
friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller
had died. They were having his visitation that evening and knowing my friends
wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into
line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of
comfort we could.

Ahead of us in line were three
young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts,
dark suits and white shirts...all very professional looking. They approached
Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket.

Each of the young men hugged her,
kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket. Her
misty light blue eyes followed them as one by one each young man stopped
briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket.
Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes.

Our turn came to meet Mrs.
Miller. I told her who I was and reminded her of the story from those many
years ago and what she had told me about her husband's bartering for marbles.
With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket.

'Those three young men who just
left were the boys I told you about.

They just told me how they
appreciated the things Jim 'traded' them. Now, at last, when Jim could not
change his mind about color or size....they came to pay their debt.'

'We've never had a great deal of
the wealth of this world,' she confided, 'but right now, Jim would consider
himself the richest man in Idaho..'

With loving gentleness she lifted
the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three
exquisitely shined red marbles.

The Moral:

We will not be remembered by our
words, but by our kind deeds. Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but
by the moments that take our breath.

Today I wish you a day of
ordinary miracles: A fresh pot of coffee
you didn't make yourself...An unexpected phone call from an old friend....
Green stoplights on your way to work...The fastest line at the grocery store...A
good sing-along song on the radio...Your keys found right where you left them.

IT'S NOT WHAT YOU GATHER, BUT
WHAT YOU SCATTER THAT TELLS WHAT KIND OF LIFE YOU HAVE LIVED!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

As I walked home one freezing day, I stumbled on a wallet someone had lost in the street. I picked it up and looked inside to find some identification so I could call the owner. But the wallet contained only three dollars and a crumpled letter that looked as if it had been in there for years.

The envelope was worn and the only thing that was legible on it was the return address. I started to open the letter, hoping to find some clue. Then I saw the dateline –1924. The letter had been written almost 70 years ago.

It was written in a beautiful feminine handwriting on powder blue stationery with a little flower in the left-hand corner. It was a “Dear John” letter that told the recipient, whose name appeared to be Michael, that the writer could not see him anymore because her mother forbade it. Even so, she wrote that she would always love him.

It was signed, Hannah.

It was a beautiful letter, but there was no way except for the name Michael, that the owner could be identified. Maybe if I called information, the operator could find a phone listing for the address on the envelope.

“Operator,” I began, “this is an unusual request. I’m trying to find the owner of a wallet that I found. Is there anyway you can tell me if there is a phone number for an address that was on an envelope in the wallet?”

She suggested I speak with her supervisor, who hesitated for a moment then said, “Well, there is a phone listing at that address, but I can’t give you the number.” She said, as a courtesy, she would call that number, explain my story and would ask them if they wanted her to connect me.

I waited a few minutes and then she was back on the line. “I have a party who will speak with you.”

I asked the woman on the other end of the line if she knew anyone by the name of Hannah. She gasped, “Oh! We bought this house from a family who had a daughter named Hannah. But that was 30 years ago!”

“Would you know where that family could be located now?” I asked.

“I remember that Hannah had to place her mother in a nursing home some years ago,” the woman said. “Maybe if you got in touch with them they might be able to track down the daughter.”

She gave me the name of the nursing home and I called the number. They told me the old lady had passed away some years ago but they did have a phone number for where they thought the daughter might be living.

I thanked them and phoned. The woman who answered explained that Hannah herself was now living in a nursing home.

This whole thing was stupid, I thought to myself. Why was I making such a big deal over finding the owner of a wallet that had only three dollars and a letter that was almost 70 years old?

Nevertheless, I called the nursing home in which Hannah was supposed to be living and the man who answered the phone told me, “Yes, Hannah is staying with us.”

Even though it was already 10 p.m., I asked if I could come by to see her. “Well,” he said hesitatingly, “if you want to take a chance, she might be in the day room watching television.”

I thanked him and drove over to the nursing home. The night nurse and a guard greeted me at the door. We went up to the third floor of the large building. In the day room, the nurse introduced me to Hannah.

She was a sweet, silver-haired oldtimer with a warm smile and a twinkle in her eye. I told her about finding the wallet and showed her the letter. The second she saw the powder blue envelope with that little flower on the left, she took a deep breath and said, “Young man, this letter was the last contact I ever had with Michael.”

She looked away for a moment deep in thought and then said softly, “I loved him very much. But I was only 16 at the time and my mother felt I was too young. Oh, he was so handsome. He looked like Sean Connery, the actor.”

“Yes,” she continued. “Michael Goldstein was a wonderful person. If you should find him, tell him I think of him often. And,” she hesitated for a moment, almost biting her lip, “tell him I still love him. You know,” she said smiling as tears began to well up in her eyes, “I never did marry. I guess no one ever matched up to Michael…”

I thanked Hannah and said goodbye. I took the elevator to the first floor and as I stood by the door, the guard there asked, “Was the old lady able to help you?”

I told him she had given me a lead. “At least I have a last name. But I think I’ll let it go for a while. I spent almost the whole day trying to find the owner of this wallet.”

I had taken out the wallet, which was a simple brown leather case with red lacing on the side. When the guard saw it, he said, “Hey, wait a minute! That’s Mr. Goldstein’s wallet. I’d know it anywhere with that bright red lacing. He’s always losing that wallet. I must have found it in the halls at least three times.”

“Who’s Mr. Goldstein?” I asked as my hand began to shake.

“He’s one of the oldtimers on the 8th floor. That’s Mike Goldstein’s wallet for sure. He must have lost it on one of his walks.” I thanked the guard and quickly ran back to the nurse’s office. I told her what the guard had said. We went back to the elevator and got on. I prayed that Mr. Goldstein would be up.

On the eighth floor, the floor nurse said, “I think he’s still in the day room. He likes to read at night. He’s a darling old man.”

We went to the only room that had any lights on and there was a man reading a book. The nurse went over to him and asked if he had lost his wallet. Mr. Goldstein looked up with surprise, put his hand in his back pocket and said, “Oh, it is missing!”

“This kind gentleman found a wallet and we wondered if it could be yours?”

I handed Mr. Goldstein the wallet and the second he saw it, he smiled with relief and said, “Yes, that’s it! It must have dropped out of my pocket this afternoon. I want to give you a reward.”

“No, thank you,” I said. “But I have to tell you something. I read the letter in the hope of finding out who owned the wallet.”

The smile on his face suddenly disappeared. “You read that letter?”

“Not only did I read it, I think I know where Hannah is.”

He suddenly grew pale. “Hannah? You know where she is? How is she? Is she still as pretty as she was? Please, please tell me,” he begged.

“She’s fine…just as pretty as when you knew her.” I said softly.

The old man smiled with anticipation and asked, “Could you tell me where she is? I want to call her tomorrow.” He grabbed my hand and said, “You know something, Mister? I was so in love with that girl that when that letter came, my life literally ended. I never married. I guess I’ve always loved her.”

“Mr. Goldstein,” I said, “Come with me.”

We took the elevator down to the third floor. The hallways were darkened and only one or two little night-lights lit our way to the day room where Hannah was sitting alone watching the television. The nurse walked over to her.

“Hannah,” she said softly, pointing to Michael, who was waiting with me in the doorway. “Do you know this man?”

She adjusted her glasses, looked for a moment, but didn’t say a word. Michael said softly, almost in a whisper, “Hannah, it’s Michael. Do you remember me?”

She gasped, “Michael! I don’t believe it! Michael! It’s you! My Michael!” He walked slowly towards her and they embraced. The nurse and I left with tears streaming down our faces.

“See,” I said. “See how the Good Lord works! If it’s meant to be, it will be.”

About three weeks later I got a call at my office from the nursing home. “Can you break away on Sunday to attend a wedding? Michael and Hannah are going to tie the knot!”

It was a beautiful wedding with all the people at the nursing home dressed up to join in the celebration. Hannah wore a light beige dress and looked beautiful. Michael wore a dark blue suit and stood tall. They made me their best man.

The hospital gave them their own room and if you ever wanted to see an 86-year-old bride and an 89-year-old groom acting like two teenagers, you had to see this couple.

About Me

I like to keep an air of mystery around me...that's for you to find out what makes me tick...I'd like to meet people who are intelligent (high IQ not necessary, just as long as they're able to hold a decent conversation), funny, good-hearted, with just a touch of an adventurer in them; easy to get along with, open and broad-minded; not afraid to try something new, able to speak their minds...

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